NNA - Caretaker Minister of Public Works and Transportation, Dr. Ali Hamieh, on Wednesday held a meeting with a World Bank delegation headed by Director of the World Bank Group in the Middle East, Jean-Christophe Carret, during which discussions focused on a number of WB-financed projects, especially the Beirut port reconstruction plan, as well as the Roads and Employment Project loan.

In the wake of the meeting, Hamieh indicated that he had received from the World Bank “several options involving the Beirut port reconstruction plan, as per a previous agreement.”

As for the Roads and Employment Project loan, which is funded by the World Bank at approximately USD 200 million, Carret expressed "the World Bank's satisfaction with the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation’s positive engagement of the with the WB,” describing it as “fruitful and constructive”. 

“For this reason, we’ve promised Hamieh to extend the aforementioned loan until June 2024, so that the Council for Development and Reconstruction could implement the planned works within a year and a half,” Carret added. 

===========R.H.